In production of a semiconductor device, fine processing by a lithography process is carried out. A problem about the lithography process has been known in which a resist pattern having a desired form is not formed during exposure of a resist layer on a substrate with an ultraviolet light laser such as a KrF excimer laser and an ArF excimer laser due to the influence of a standing wave that is caused by reflection of light from the ultraviolet light laser on a surface of the substrate. In order to solve the problem, a resist underlayer film (anti-reflective coating) provided between the substrate and the resist layer is used. Use of a novolac resin as a composition for forming the resist underlayer film is known (Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4).
A lithography process has been also known in which a resist underlayer film of at least two layers is formed and used as a mask material for a decrease in film thickness of a resist layer that is required due to miniaturization of a resist pattern. Examples of materials for forming the at least two layers include an organic resin (e.g., acrylic resin and novolac resin), a silicon resin (e.g., organopolysiloxane), and an inorganic silicon compound (e.g., SiON and SiO2). During dry etching using a pattern formed from the organic resin as a mask, the pattern needs to have resistance to etching using an etching gas (e.g., fluorocarbon). Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 disclose an organic resin that is capable of forming such a pattern and has embeddability.